Plattsburgh State senior Antonellie “Nelly” Delacruz: better known as the orientation leader who played “Cotton Eye Joe” while anticipated freshman stood on line waiting to enter Whiteface Hall during summer orientation.
Delacruz is best known as a smiling, extroverted leader who brings positivity to whomever she encounters. Delacruz, an international business, marketing and global supply chain management triple major, is free to expand her horizons.
“I chose to declare international business because I wanted to expand on my cultural intelligence and aspire to meet different people with different perspectives,” Delacruz said. “It’s part of who I am because I love to travel and meet new people.”
Delacruz will put her triple major to use at her internship in Manhattan working for Disney/ABC as their advertising sales intern this summer. Delacruz’s responsibilities include broadcasting sale pitches for Disney Channel, ABC and Freeform. In addition to updating business-to-business websites, talking to advertising clients and extensive researching to create a competitive advantage over other companies.
“I’m really excited, and I’m hoping that lands a full-time job after graduation,” Delacruz said. “I see myself in the broadcast sales realm of the entertainment industry.”
Delacruz recalls studying abroad in Australia as the spark of her interest in the marketing field.
“That was definitely the root of my professional development, and also the beginning to my professional career as a future marketer,” Delacruz said. “I met so many people that had the same interests as me. Not just traveling, but improving themselves and trying to make themselves more applicable to future employers. It really exposed me to a different side of professionalism.”
Delacruz is the president of the Marketing Association chapter at PSUC in addition to being a Community Advocate in Whiteface Hall and the creator of the Women in Leadership organization on campus.
Delacruz created Women in Leadership in order to combat misogyny on campus after she experienced discrimination during her sophomore year while in a group with two male classmates.
“He did not really acknowledge me,” Delacruz said. “He did not look me in the eye, but repeated what I just said to the other guy. At first I thought he was shy, but I later found out about his misogynistic reputation on campus.”
Delacruz felt it was necessary to create an organization where women do not have to worry about being ignored.
“I created the Women in Leadership because I was involved on campus, and I was always put in a group of all guys,” Delacruz said. “Most of the time I would do most of the work, and they would take credit for it.”
Delacruz wants her members to feel safe about sharing their stories like she did.
Many assume Women in Leadership only allows female members, but males are more than welcome to attend any meeting they’d like.
“I feel like my club has given everyone the opportunity to speak up for themselves and for male allies to take action on campus.” Delacruz said.
“She is motivated, dedicated and hungry for success,” said Patrick Bryans, a social work major at PSUC. “If she gets a taste for something she wants, she’s not going to stop until she gets it.”
Delacruz was a former resident of Bryans when he was a CA for Wilson Hall. He said Delacruz was a great resident whom he described as being a “whirlwind” of positivity around the floor.
“She basically did my job for me,” Bryans said.
Delacruz’s spirit has touched many members of the PSUC community including Career Development Center Director Julia Overton-Healy.
“This was a young woman who had herself together, and I knew she was going to go places,” Overton-Healy said after recalling her first impression of Delacruz. “She had a very clear vision of who she is and what she stands for.”
The word that Overton-Healy would use to describe Delacruz is “charismatic” because of her confidence and willingness to help others.
“I will always think of Nelly as the young woman who walked through the hallway with this terrific sense of friendly confidence,” Overton-Healy said. “She is open and supportive of everybody that she met. I think that’s a really great way to start your professional life.”
Email Mataeo Smith at fuse@cardinalpointsonline.com
